Al 'Imran: (14) Adorned for people is the love...

In this verse, there are several points of discussion:

Issue 1: The Structure and Context of the Verse

There are two main interpretations regarding the connection of this verse:

The First View (Related to Narration): It is narrated that Abū Ḥārithah ibn ‘Alqamah al-Naṣrānī confessed to his brother that he knew the truthfulness of Muḥammad (PBUH) but refused to affirm it for fear of losing wealth and status from the Roman kings. Furthermore, it is narrated that after the Battle of Badr, when the Prophet (PBUH) invited the Jews to Islam, they displayed outward strength, severity, and reliance on wealth and arms. In this verse, Allāh clarifies that these things, and other worldly enjoyments, are fleeting and false, while the Hereafter is better and more enduring.

The Second View (General Interpretation): After Allāh stated in the preceding verse, {And Allāh supports with His victory whom He wills. Indeed, in that is a lesson for those of insight} (Al 'Imran: 13), this verse serves as an explanation of that lesson. Allāh mentions that the love of physical desires and worldly pleasures has been adorned for people. Then, He clarifies that these things are transient and perishable; their pleasure passes, but their consequences remain. Subsequently, Allāh urges a desire for the Hereafter by saying, {Say, "Shall I inform you of something better than that?"} (Al 'Imran: 15), and then describes the good things of the Hereafter prepared for the patient and truthful who persevere in servitude, until the end of the verse.

Issue 2: Who is the Adorner?

There is a difference of opinion on who adorned these things for people:

Our Companions' View (Ash'arites/Maturidites): Their position is clear: since Allāh is the Creator of all actions, He is the Adorner. They argue that if Satan were the adorner, then who adorned disbelief and innovation for Satan? If it were another devil, it would lead to an infinite regress (tasalsul). If Satan adorned it for himself, then the human could do the same. If Allāh is the source (which is the truth), then the adornment for the human should also be from Allāh. The Qur'an hints at this point in Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ: {“Our Lord, these are the ones whom we misled; we misled them just as we were misled.”} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 63), meaning: if someone believes we misled them, then who misled us? This argument is very apparent.

The Mu'tazila View: The Qāḍī (Al-Rāzī often refers to Al-Qāḍī ‘Abd al-Jabbār) reports three sayings from them:

1. The First Saying (Attributed to Al-Ḥasan): Satan adorned it for them, and Al-Ḥasan would swear by Allāh regarding this. The Qāḍī supports this view with several points:
   • Allāh mentioned the love of desires generally, which includes forbidden desires, and the adorner of forbidden desires is Satan.
   • Allāh mentioned "heaps upon heaps of gold and silver." Loving such immense wealth is only fitting for one who makes the world the ultimate goal, as the people of the Hereafter are content with victory (in the Hereafter).
   • Allāh says, {That is the enjoyment of the worldly life} (Al 'Imran: 14), clearly in a context of condemnation of the world. It is impossible for Allāh to adorn something He is condemning.
   • The following verse says, {Say, "Shall I inform you of something better than that?"} (Al 'Imran: 15). The purpose of this speech is to turn the servant away from the world and make it ugly in their eyes, which is inconsistent with someone who adorns the world for them.

2. The Second Saying (Held by some Mu'tazila): Allāh is the adorner. Their arguments:
   • Just as Allāh encourages striving for the Hereafter, He created worldly delights and permitted them for His servants. Permitting them is an adornment. If Allāh creates the desire and the desired object, and informs the desirer of the pleasure in consuming it, and then permits that consumption, He is adorning it.
   • Benefiting from these desired things serves as means to the benefits of the Hereafter, which Allāh encourages. We say this because:
     • One can spend it in charity.
     • One can gain strength from it for obedience to Allāh.
     • If one benefits from them and realizes these benefits were facilitated by Allāh's creation and assistance, it becomes a cause for immense gratitude. (The scholar Ibn ‘Abbād used to say that drinking cold water in summer extracts praise from the deepest part of the heart.)
     • If one is capable of enjoying these delights but refrains from them to engage in worship and endure its hardship, their reward is greater.
   • Therefore, benefiting from these good things serves as means to the reward of the Hereafter.
   • Allāh says, {It is He who created for you all that is in the earth} (Al-Baqarah: 29), and {Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allāh which He has produced for His servants and the good things of provision?"} (Al-A'rāf: 32), and {Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it} (Al-Kahf: 7), and {Take your adornment at every place of prayer} (Al-A'rāf: 31). All this indicates the adornment is from Allāh. This is further supported by Mujāhid’s reading of Zuyyina (passive voice) as Zayyana (active voice, implying Allāh as the subject).

3. The Third Saying (Preferred by Abū ‘Alī al-Jubbā’ī and the Qāḍī): This is a detailed view:
   • If the desire relates to something obligatory or recommended, the adornment is from Allāh.
   • If the desire relates to something forbidden, the adornment is from Satan.
   • The Qāḍī omitted a third category: the permissible (mubāḥ), where there is neither reward nor punishment for doing or leaving it. He should have clarified whether the adornment for this category comes from Allāh or Satan.

Issue 3: Discussions on {The Love of Desires}

There are three points of discussion regarding the phrase ḥubbu ash-shahawāt (the love of desires):

First Point: Here, shahawāt (desires) refers to the desired objects themselves, named metaphorically due to attachment and connection, similar to how the capable is called qudrah (power), the hoped-for is called rajā’ (hope), and the known is called ‘ilm (knowledge). This is a common metaphor in Arabic; one says, "This is so-and-so's desire," meaning his desired object. The author of Al-Kashshāf noted two benefits in naming the objects "desires":

1. It emphasizes the intensity with which these objects are desired and sought after for enjoyment.
2. Shahwah (desire) is a quality deemed contemptible by the wise; whoever follows it testifies to his own bestial nature. Thus, the intent of using this word is to repel people from it.

Second Point: The theologians state that this verse indicates that love is distinct from desire (shahwah). This is because love is attributed to desire (ḥubbu ash-shahawāt), and the possessor (love) is different from the possessed (desire). Desire is an action of Allāh (the innate inclination), while love is an action of the servant, meaning the servant makes the pursuit of pleasures and good things his entire goal and livelihood.

Third Point: The philosophers state that a person might love something but also love not to love it—like a Muslim who might be naturally inclined toward some forbidden things but loves to be free from that inclination. However, the perfection of love is when one loves a thing and loves to love it. If this is in the realm of good, it is the perfection of happiness, as in the verse about Solomon: {“Indeed, I have loved the love of good things”} (Ṣād: 32), meaning: I love good, and I love to be a lover of good. If this is in the realm of evil, it is as mentioned in this verse.

The phrase {Adorned for people is the love of desires} indicates three sequential stages:

1. One desires various objects of desire.
2. One loves that desire.
3. One believes that this love is good and virtuous.

When these three degrees combine, the matter reaches the utmost intensity and strength, and it can hardly be resolved except through great divine assistance.

Allāh attributes this to an-nās (the people), a general term preceded by the definite article, implying universality. Reason also supports this: whatever is delicious and beneficial is loved and sought for its own sake. Beneficial delights are of two types: physical and spiritual. The physical type is present in everyone initially. The spiritual type is rare, found in only a few individuals, and only after the soul has become accustomed to physical pleasures. Thus, the soul’s attraction to physical pleasures becomes an established, firm disposition, while its attraction to spiritual pleasures is like a transient state easily removed. It is no wonder that the majority of creation is strongly inclined toward physical pleasures. The inclination toward spiritual pleasures occurs only in rare individuals, and even then, only at rare times. For this reason, Allāh generalized this ruling: {Adorned for people is the love of desires}.

Regarding {Of Women and Sons}

There are two points of discussion here:

First Point: The particle min (of/from) in {of women and sons} is like its use in {So avoid the impurity of idols} (Al-Ḥajj: 30). Just as the meaning there is "avoid the idols which are impurity," the meaning here is "Women, and so on, which are desired, have been adorned for people."

Second Point: Allāh enumerates seven desired things here.

1. Women: They are mentioned first because the pleasure derived from them is greater, and companionship with them is more complete. Allāh says, {And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy} (Ar-Rūm: 21). Furthermore, intense, consuming, and destructive passionate love occurs only in this type of desire.

2. Sons (Children): Since the love for male children is often stronger than for female children, Allāh specifically mentioned them. The benefit derived from them is clear in terms of joy, multiplying one's numbers, and so on.

Allāh has profound wisdom in creating the love for spouses and children in the human heart, for without this love, procreation would cease, leading to the extinction of the lineage. This love is like an innate disposition, present in all animals, and its wisdom is the preservation of the lineage, as mentioned.

3. The Third and Fourth: {And heaps upon heaps of gold and silver}. There are three points here:

• First Point (Definition of Qinṭār): Al-Zajjāj said Qinṭār is derived from the concept of binding and securing something. Qanṭarah (arch/bridge) is derived from this due to its firm structure. A Qinṭār is a large amount of wealth by which a person secures himself against various calamities. Some Arabs say it is an immeasurable weight. This is the correct view, although some tried to define it with narrations: Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "A Qinṭār is twelve thousand ūqiyyah (ounces)." Anas narrated that it is one thousand dīnārs. Ubayy ibn Ka‘b narrated the Prophet (PBUH) said it is one thousand two hundred ūqiyyah. Ibn ‘Abbās said it is one thousand dīnārs or twelve thousand dirhams, which is the amount of blood money (diyah), and Al-Ḥasan used this as a measure. Al-Kalbī said that in the Roman language, a Qinṭār is the capacity of a bull's hide filled with gold or silver. We omit other sayings as they lack evidential support.

• Second Point (Al-Muqanṭarah): This is derived from Qinṭār and serves as an emphasis, like saying "a thousand multiplied" (alf mu’allafah), or "a highly valued pearl" (badrāh mubaddarah). Al-Kalbī said Qanāṭīr refers to three times the amount, and Muqanṭarah means doubled, making a total of six times the base unit.

• Third Point (Why Gold and Silver are Loved): They are loved because they serve as the price for all things; thus, their owner is like the owner of all things. Ownership is a quality of power, and power is a quality of perfection, which is inherently loved. Since gold and silver are the most perfect means to attain this inherently loved perfection, and whatever is necessary for the existence of the loved thing is also loved, they are necessarily loved.

5. The Fifth: {And well-kept horses}. Al-Wāḥidī said Khayl (horses) is a collective noun without a singular form in its root, like qawm (people) or nisā’ (women). Horses are called khayl because of their proud gait (khaylā). Human movement characterized by wandering is called ikhtiyāl. Imagination (khayāl) is named so because this faculty wanders in recalling an image. Al-Akhyal is a type of bird (shining green/red) because it appears sometimes green and sometimes red, relating to the wandering appearance. There are three opinions on the meaning of {Al-Musawwamah} (well-kept/branded):

• First View (Grazing): It means they are sent out to graze. One says asmaṭa ad-dābbah if one sends the animal out to pasture, similar to aqamtu and qawwamtuhu. The intent is that when they graze, they become more beautiful. This is supported by the verse: {wherein you pasture them} (An-Naḥl: 10).

• Second View (Marked/Branded): Abū Muslim al-Iṣfahānī said this is derived from Sīmā (shortened) or Sīmā’ (lengthened), both meaning a good appearance. Allāh says, {Their mark is on their faces from the effect of prostration} (Al-Fatḥ: 29). Those holding this view differ on the nature of the mark: Abū Muslim specified the white markings (ghurrah) and white legs (taḥjīl), which signify noble wealth. Al-Aṣamm specified the piebald horses (al-bulq). Qatādah specified the brand mark (ash-shiyah). Al-Mu’arrij specified branding by cauterization (al-kayy). Abū Muslim’s view is superior because the verse refers to the noblest wealth, which is the ghurrah and taḥjīl.

• Third View (Excellent/Well-fed): This is the view of Mujāhid and ‘Ikrimah: they are the well-fed, beautiful horses. Al-Qaffāl said muṭahhamah refers to a beautiful woman.

6. The Sixth: {Livestock (Al-An‘ām)}: This is the plural of Ni‘mah, referring to camels, cattle, and sheep. Only camels are exclusively called Ni‘mah in the singular form because they predominate in this category.

7. The Seventh: {And cultivated land (Al-Ḥarth)}: We discussed its derivation in the verse {and destroys crops and lineage} (Al-Baqarah: 205).

After enumerating these seven, Allāh says: {That is the enjoyment of the worldly life}. Al-Qāḍī asks: Since these things were created to be enjoyed, how can it be said that attributing adornment to Allāh is impermissible? He then states that enjoying worldly possessions has several aspects:

• One enjoys them exclusively, being singled out by Allāh for these blessings, which is blameworthy.
• One refrains from using them despite need, which is also blameworthy.
• One uses them in a permissible way without connecting it to the benefits of the Hereafter; this is neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy.
• One uses them in a way that leads to the benefits of the Hereafter; this is the praiseworthy way.

Then Allāh says: {But Allāh—with Him is the best return (Ḥusn al-Ma’āb)}. Ma’āb linguistically means the return or destination. One says āba ar-rajul (the man returned) with various forms (iyāban, awbatan, abyāban, ma’āban). Allāh says, {Indeed, to Us is their return} (Al-Ghashiyah: 26). The intent here is to clarify that whoever Allāh grants the world, it is incumbent upon him to use it for the cultivation of his afterlife and as a means to his ultimate happiness. Since the goal is to encourage return, the Ma’āb is described as Ḥusn (best/beautiful).

Objection: The return (Ma’āb) is twofold: Paradise, which is supremely beautiful, and Hellfire, which lacks any beauty. How, then, is the absolute return described as beautiful?

Answer: The intended return (Ma’āb) in essence is Paradise. As for Hellfire, it is not the intended goal, because Allāh created creation out of mercy, not punishment, as He said: "My Mercy has preceded My Wrath." This contains profound secrets.

Verse 15: {Say, "Shall I inform you of something better than that? For those who fear Allāh—with their Lord are Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally, and [with them] purified spouses and pleasure from Allāh. And Allāh is Seeing of His servants."}

(The translation ends here as the source text transitions to the next verse.)